i34 EAST AGAIN

evilly. A host of little coloured birds flitted from tree to tree
sparkling like a handful of scattered jewels,

Mohammed was peevish. He was tired. He hated the
jungle, and he was, I suspected, a little raw from riding up and
down the hills, and on starting one of the bullocks had kicked
him on the knee and raised a bruise. 1 le sulked and after all I
couldn't blame him. His late master hud lived at the grandest
of Calcutta's expensive caravanserais—the (Jreat Kastern Hotel
—und naturally his servant had enjoyed many privileges. He
dressed immaculately in Kuropean clothes with a red fez. He
preferred to eat with a knife and fork. 1 le '* put on airs," In
fact he was a very superior person. But his master had unfor-
tunately died, much to Mohammed's grief, for it was quite
evident the Moslem servant had been sincerely attached to the
Englishman* And now by evil chance he had engaged himself
to a sort of wandering lunatic, who never seemed to have any plans,
whose whole luggage consisted of three suit-cases and a little
bedding, and who actually went into native ba/aars and made
friends with the most ridiculous people—who walked when he
might have ridden and took the slowest means of getting any-
where—and didn't even have his clothes pressed regularly and
paid no calls* Naturally Mohammed suffered. 1 lis dignity was
injured. Had he but known when he took the place what was
in store for him 1—but he hadn't. And now he was travelling
in a jungle on a bullock cart going God knew where in a country
he had never even heard of, I took pity on him and spoke to him
cheerfully. I told him that very soon we would reach the river
where a really beautiful boat awaited us, with two cabins, one for
him and the other for me> with water laid on in the wash-hand
basins—and a kitchen for him to cook in and a trouser-press and
an ice-chest and real bedding and a steward and an engineer and
heaven knows what. He smiled at last when I said lunch would
be ready for us when we arrived and that 1 had ordered curried
prawns—and almost before I had finished my tale we reached the
river and there at the bottom of a muddy bank lay our boat—a
canoe about forty feet long and less than three feet wide cut out
of a single tree and so frail that it threatened to capsize if one
sneezed—and of course with none of the things I had promised^
for the boat possessed nothing except a small matting awning on
bamboo, canes and three almost nude, much-tattooed Burmese
boatmen. Poor Mohammed, it was cruel of me, but he took it
very well and continued to do his duty with conscientious concern